India successfully defended their title and completed a historic five-peat as they beat Nepal 90-44. With this win, India ensured they were unbeaten (4-0) in the tournament.

Vishesh Bhriguvanshi was declared the ‘Player of the game’ while centre Amritpal Singh won the MVP of the tournament award.

India have now qualified for the FIBA Asia Cup taking place in Lebanon from 8th-20th August this year.

India has also ensured qualification for its top club team in the FIBA Asia Champions Cup – a tournament where the premier club teams of Asian countries go head to head.

Male/Bengaluru, 23nd May 2017: In the 5th South Asian Basketball Association (SABA) Championship underway in Maldives, India beat Nepal 90-44 to go unbeaten in the tournament and complete a historic five-peat of SABA championships.

India beat Nepal 90-44

Team India are all smiles after completing a five-peat of SABA Championships. Image credits: Basketball Federation of India

Playing its fourth and final round robin encounter, defending champs India dominated Nepal 90-44 and earned yet another victory. India made the most of its size advantage against a smaller Nepal team and scored majority of its points in the paint while opening a 19-point lead in the very first quarter.

India’s veteran shooting guard Vishesh Bhriguvanshi continued his scoring spree as he tallied 22 points in the encounter. Shooting guard Anil Kumar BK also chipped in with 16 points off the bench. The second half of the game saw young players Jeevanatham Pandi, Muin Bek and Vishal Kumar Gupta get some valuable playing time. Pandi made the most of this opportunity by using his size to grab offensive rebounds and score 12 points for the team.

For Nepal, Ashim Shrestha was the leading scorer with 9 points as Nepal’s shooters struggled against India’s zone defence.

Vishesh Bhriguvanshi was declared player of the match while centre Amritpal Singh won the MVP of the tournament award.

India has now ensured qualification for itself and its top club team, in the upcoming FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon from 8-20 August, and the FIBA Asia Champions Cup respectively.